As a moments page, spoilers will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
- Whenever Raina's "friends" (sans Jane and to a lesser extent Melissa) mistreat or tease her. It's clear that her insecurities get worse and worse whenever they're around (a good example is how at the end of the first chapter, Emily tells her that her ponytails make her look like a baby, which Raina concedes as true hours later when she's going to bed).
- At one point, Raina learns she has to have her braces put back on, and complains to her friends that she's gonna look like a nerd again. Then they tell her that she's always looked like a nerd to them, and tease her further when she storms off.
Nicole: What's her problem?
Karin: Oh, she's just being a big baby.- At her 13th birthday party, they trick her into wearing a tube top and miniskirt so that she'll get the attention of her crush Sean. It works and they all have a big laugh at her; Raina, obviously, isn't so amused and asks them what they thought it would be like if she had gone to school dressed like that. Their response? "It would've been hilarious!
- Subtle one: on their first day of high school, Raina meets her friends at lunch and learns that, while she spent most of her summer at home (well, except for the stressful as hell road trip in Sisters), they went out and had fun without her. Then they basically ignore her again, showing how little they value her except as a cheap laugh. Any wonder why Raina gets new friends later?
- What's even more depressing, Raina was just starting to have a good first day of high school, enjoying the novelty of how big and new her school was. And then her friends came into the picture and soured it for her. If her "same old, same old" comment to her mother is any indication, it made her realize that despite being in a new school, her friends are giving her more of the same treatment as before.
- The straw that breaks the camel's back is in Chapter 7: Raina is buying a snack from a vending machine when Nicole and Karin sneak behind her and pull down her skirt. The entire courtyard at lunch bursts into laughter, causing Raina to run to the bathroom in tears. The worst part is that the rest of her "friends" follow her. Not to console her, no; they try to convince her that Nicole and Karin didn't do anything wrong.
Raina: I don't care WHAT they were doing! They pulled my skirt off in front of the entire school!
Emily: At least you had leggings underneath...
Raina: That's not the point. They humiliated me.
(beat)
Emily: But you have to admit, it was kinda funny ...
Raina: WHAT?!- Then, she runs into Nicole and Karin and almost starts crying again while they stare her down and smirk at her. It's no wonder Raina breaks up with them.
- When Raina learns she's going to lose her two front teeth, she becomes borderline depressed for what is hinted to be several months, causing her grades to slip, for her to lose her love for art, and to become more distant from Sammy. She can be whiny, but she has a good reason to.
- How Sammy and Raina's relationship falls apart. Raina and Sam, a sixth grader with braces who's a year younger than her, share a mutual crush throughout the first semester of Raina's 7th Grade year. Then Sean enters the picture and, unwittingly, causes a rift between Raina and Sammy; Sammy asks Raina to the dance and she says that she'l be there, but because of her disappointment that Sean isn't coming and her confusion about her new feelings, Raina stands him up. Heartbroken, Sammy gives her a box of chocolates and (politely) breaks off their relationship.
- That panel after their "romance" ends is just heartbreaking: the two are sitting next to each other, but the rest of the room is totally empty; the two kids can barely stand to look at each other due to their sadness, and the only words are Sammy saying "Just forget it." [sniff]
- The saddest thing is that this whole situation could've solved by better communication. Raina could've easily said that her plans had changed without saying why, but that she still liked him. Young love, however, is rarely well thought out, and thus Raina paid the price.
